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Britain Rejects American Missile for Eurofighter

May 19, 2000

In a victory for European unity, Britain rejected an American missile and awarded a weapons acquisition package worth $7.5 billion to Matra-BAe. The decision is a setback to Raytheon, the U.S. missile manufacturer, and blocks Washington's effort to set the agenda for trans-Atlantic defense integration. Britain will spend $1.2 billion for the yet-to-be-developed Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles to arm the 232 Eurofighters it has on order. The selection of the missile is controversial because Washington was lobbying London to select a next-generation missile being developed by Raytheon, the Extended Range Air-to-Air Missile (ERAAM). To arm its Eurofighters until Meteor is developed, Britain will also spend $300 million to purchase Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) from Raytheon. The AMRAAM is in production, but is less sophisticated than the next-generation Meteor.

Britain's European partners lobbied hard for Meteor because Britain will now pay one-third of the Meteor’s development cost. Without the British order, the project would have died. The contract is a significant win for Matra-BAe, now the world's No. 2 missile maker after Raytheon. The market for missiles to arm Eurofighters, being produced by a British-German-Italian-Spanish consortium, is valued at $3 billion.

The Meteor missile will be the most advanced Beyond-Visual-Range-Air-To-Air missile in the world when it enters service in 2008. Its key advantage over its American competitor is that it is powered all the way to its target. Unlike the ERAAM, an upgrade of the existing AMRAAM which uses a conventional solid rocket motor and merely coasts to its target after motor burnout, the Meteor's ramjet propulsion system gives it a constant speed of Mach 4, making it virtually impossible to avoid. The U.S. had considered developing a ramjet version of the AMRAAM but rejected it as unnecessary, given the stealth capabilities of the new F-22 Raptor fighter.

Asked about the factors behind the decision, Geoff Hoon, the British Defense Secretary, claimed that "capability was uppermost in our minds to make sure we had the best equipment for our forces." He did not mention the fact that awarding the contract to Matra-BAe will safeguard 5,000 British jobs and create as many more. The only problem in choosing between the two missiles is that the Meteor will cost twice as much. Britain’s cost to develop and procure the Meteor is estimated at $1.5 billion cost compared to $750 million for the American missile.

The British government's decision to equip its air force with European-made missiles and military transports was a major setback for the Clinton administration's hopes of getting European support for flagging American defense industries. "Europe Wins," France’s Le Monde newspaper bragged in a front-page headline Wednesday, describing the deal as proof that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government has rallied to more independent defense capabilities in Europe, a theme long championed by France. Britain and its partners in the Eurofighter consortium had been wary of arming the plane with an American missile because of concern that a future administration or Congress might limit third-country sales, crippling potential Eurofighter exports.

The Meteor missile, as standard European equipment in the future, will not necessarily impair European warplanes' ability to fight alongside American aircraft. The advanced range and speed of the Meteor will compensate for weaknesses in the Eurofighter warplanes, which lack the stealth of current American aircraft.

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